Service Designates Critical Habitat for
the Colorado Butterfly Plant in Platte and Laramie Counties, Wyoming

In
accordance with a court-approved settlement agreement, the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service today designated 3,538 acres of critical habitat along
approximately 51 stream miles within Platte and Laramie counties, Wyoming
for the Federally threatened Colorado butterfly plant, a short-lived
perennial herb.

In this
final action, the Service excluded 4,948 acres from the 8,486 acres that
were proposed as critical habitat.

Some
areas in Wyoming were excluded because the Service and private landowners
developed conservation agreements that will provide conservation benefits
for the plant. Similarly, habitat in Weld County,
Colorado was excluded because the
City of Fort Collins signed a conservation agreement with the Service.

“We
appreciate the efforts and willingness of private landowners to partner
with the Service to seek solutions that are compatible with the
conservation of the plant as well as landowner activities,” said
Ralph Morgenweck, the Service’s Director for the Mountain-Prairie Region.
“It is volunteer partnerships such as these that will provide for the
long-term persistence of this species.”

Habitat
located on the F.E. Warren Air Force Base was not considered for
designation as critical habitat because the Base has an approved
Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan that addresses the
conservation needs of the species.

Proposed
areas in Kimball County, Nebraska were excluded based on 2004 survey
results showing no remaining populations and habitat that did not include
all the biological elements necessary for the conservation of the plant.

The
critical habitat designation was completed in response to a lawsuit filed
by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Biodiversity Legal
Foundation.

The
Colorado
butterfly plant is found in moist areas of floodplains and stands 2 to 3
feet tall with one or a few reddish, fuzzy stems and white flowers that
turn pink or red with age. Only a few flowers are open at one time and
these are located below the rounded buds and above the mature fruits.
Non-flowering plants consist of a stemless, basal rosette of oblong,
hairless leaves 1 to 7 inches long.

The
primary threats to the plant are haying and mowing at certain times of the
year, over-grazing, changes in water use, land conversion for cultivation,
competition from exotic plants, non-selective use of herbicides, and loss
of habitat to urban development.

Native
plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values.
Plants play an important role in development of crops that resist disease,
insects, and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain
ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine to treat
cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, and to assist in
organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.

Critical
habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act. It identifies geographic
areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened
or endangered species and may require special management considerations.
The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or
establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation
area. It does not allow government or public access to private lands.Designation of critical habitatdoes not affect private landowners undertaking a project on private
land that does not involve federal funding or require a federal permit or
authorization.

In 30
years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Service has found
that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional
protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using
scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation
benefits.

In almost
all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary
cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical
habitat. Habitat is also protected through cooperative measures under the
Endangered Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans, Safe Harbor
Agreements, Candidate Conservation Agreements and state programs. In
addition, voluntary partnership programs such as the Service’s Private
Stewardship Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program also restore
habitat. Habitat for endangered species is provided on many national
wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state
wildlife management areas.

This
finding is published in today’s Federal Register. Other
informational materials can be found at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/plants/cobutterfly/index.htm

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the
principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and
enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing
benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife
refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas.
It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices
and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal
wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory
bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native
American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also
oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of
millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to
state fish and wildlife agencies.

The Colorado
butterfly plant is a short-lived perennial herb found in moist areas of
floodplains and stands 2-3 feet tall with one or a few reddish, fuzzy
stems and white flowers that turn pink or red with age. Only a few
flowers are open at one time and these are located below the rounded buds
and above the mature fruits. Non-flowering plants consist of a stemless,
basal rosette of oblong, hairless leaves 1-7 inches long.

Current range of the
plant is restricted to Platte and Laramie Counties in southeastern Wyoming
and Weld County, Colorado.

The Colorado
butterfly plant was added to the list of threatened species protected
under the Endangered Species Act on October 18, 2000.

Native plants are
important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values. Plants
play an important role in development of crops that resist disease,
insects, and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain
ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine to treat
cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, and to assist in
organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.

Q. What are the
threats to the plant?

Non-selective use of
herbicides, over-grazing, haying and mowing at certain times of the year,
water development, land conversion for cultivation, competition from
exotic plants, and loss of habitat to urban growth are the main threats to
plant populations.

Critical habitat is a
term in the Endangered Species Act. It identifies geographic areas that
contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or
endangered species and may require special management considerations. The
designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership nor allow
government or public access to private lands and will not result in
closure of the area to all access or use.

Q. Does the
designation of critical habitat create preserves?

No. The designation
of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge,
wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area.

Q. Is an economic
analysis required as part of designating critical habitat?

Yes. The Service must
take into account the economic impact and other relevant impacts of
identifying any particular area as critical habitat. Unless the failure to
designate an area as critical habitat would result in the extinction of
the species, we may exclude an area from critical habitat if we determine
that the benefits (economic and otherwise) of excluding it outweigh the
benefits of including it. This determination is based on the best
scientific, economic, and commercial information available. Copies of the
final economic analysis may be obtained at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/plants/cobutterfly/index.htm

Q. Is critical
habitat designated for all listed species?

No. Critical habitat
has been designated for approximately 36 percent of the species currently
listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The
Act requires us to identify critical habitat at the time a species is
listed. However, in some cases, designating critical habitat may be
considered “not prudent” if it would cause harm to the species, such as
increasing the possibility of vandalism or collection or would not be
beneficial to the species. We may find that such a designation is “not
determinable” if we don’t have enough information when a species is listed
to define areas as critical habitat.

Q. Why has critical habitat been designated for the Colorado butterfly plant now?

Critical habitat for
the Colorado butterfly plant was not proposed at the time of listing in
2000 due budget constraints and other listing actions of higher priority.
Consequently, a lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity
and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation for failure to designate critical
habitat. A court-approved settlement agreement required the Service to
make a final critical habitat designation for the Colorado butterfly plant
by Dec. 31, 2004.

Q. How does the
final designation differ from what was proposed?

In this final action,
the Service excluded 4,948 acres from the 8,486 acres that were proposed
as critical habitat.

Some areas in Wyoming
were excluded because the Service and private landowners developed
conservation agreements that will provide conservation benefits for the
plant. Similarly, habitat in Weld County,
Colorado was excluded because the
City of Fort Collins signed a conservation agreement with the Service.

Habitat located on
the F.E. Warren Air Force Base was not considered for designation as
critical habitat because the Base has an approved Integrated Natural
Resources Management Plan that addresses the conservation needs of the
species.

Proposed areas in
Kimball County, Nebraska were excluded based on 2004 survey results
showing no remaining populations and habitat that did not include all the
biological elements necessary for the conservation of the plant.

Q.
What is the land ownership of the proposed critical habitat designations?

In this designation,
the Service excluded 4,948 acres from the 8,486 acres that were proposed
as critical habitat. Some areas were excluded based on new information
provided by recent surveys while other areas were excluded because the
Service and private landowners developed conservation agreements that will
provide protection and conservation benefits for the plant.

Habitat located on
the F.E. Warren Air Force Base was not considered for designation as
critical habitat because the Base has an approved Integrated Natural
Resources Management Plan that addresses the conservation needs of the
species.

Q.
How did the Service determine what areas should be proposed as critical
habitat for the Colorado butterfly plant?

The
Service used the best scientific data available to determine areas that
contain the physical and biological features essential for the
conservation of the plant and reviewed all the available information
concerning habitat conditions, threats, limiting factors, population
demographics, and the known location, distribution, and abundance of the
plant.

The
Service designated only those areas that currently have thebiological features
essential to the conservation of the Colorado butterfly plant

Q. How
does a critical habitat designation affect private landowners?

The designation of
critical habitat on privately-owned land does not mean the government
wants to acquire or control the land. Activities on private lands that do
not require Federal permits or funding are not affected by a critical
habitat designation. Critical habitat does not require landowners to
carry out any special management actions or restrict the use of the
land.

If a landowner needs a
Federal permit or receives Federal funding for a specific activity, the
agency responsible for issuing the permit or providing the funds would
consult with the Service to determine how the action may affect the
species or its designated critical habitat. The Service will work with
the Federal agency and private landowner to modify the project and
minimize the impacts.

Q. How would State
lands be affected by a critical habitat designation?

Non-Federal activities
are not affected by a critical habitat designation. However, Federal
agencies are required to review activities they fund, authorize, or carry
out, to assess the likely effects of the activities on critical habitat.